August, 2023 - Travels with Verne and Roy

Singapore Cultural Attractions, 17 July to 2 August, Part 2

Singapore cultural attractions: a humble admission; Roy, then and now – a historical artefact?; Now Boarding: Experiencing Singapore through Travel 1800s – 2000s; Palawan Beach, Sentosa; meditating on dengue in Fort Canning Park; running up hills and through treacle; paths diverge at Botanic Gardens MRT

I wanted to title this “Culture Vultures in Singapore”, but had to admit it would have been an overstatement. Visiting one museum, two gardens and a theme-park island does not a culture vulture make.

What was more, the title had already been used: click here for a PDF of my recent Expat Living magazine article on our visit to Phuket. (But please remember to come back!)

National Museum of Singapore

Situated on the edge of Fort Canning Park, the National Museum of Singapore is a magnificent attraction worth visiting and revisiting – but at first I doubted I’d be able to drag Roy along with me. I’d probably have to go alone. (I could already hear the protestations: he’d been there before, what had changed, etc.)

Singapore cultural attractions, Singapore National Museum — Singapore National Museum, next to Fort Canning Park, Stamford Hill Road

Then, jogging past this lovely building on my way into the park one morning, I saw a possible way to lure Roy in: a current exhibition titled: “Now Boarding: Experiencing Singapore Through Travel, 1800s – 2000s”. Ha! That would be irresistible to a man who first visited Singapore as a teenaged BI (British India Steam Navigation Co. Ltd) cadet in the 1960s.

Eating out in Singapore, 17 July to 2 Aug: Part 1

Eating out in Singapore; same old bleat about winter and a change of scenery; avo-smuggling and avo-PTSD; small, sweet sins; real food – Taiwanese dim sum, French rustic at Le Bistrot du Sommelier, superb Sri Lankan, Indian tandoori and more; cheap eggs and coffee; decadent Sunday champagne brunch

As I like to remind my husband and anyone else who will listen, I was never supposed to do winter. Roy and I were in tropical Singapore for 16 years, until he retired from shipping in 2016 and we embarked on travels that ensured we’d always be in the appropriate hemisphere to benefit from eternal summer. (If you have a moment, click here, here and here for some of my earlier blog posts.)